The father of Lee Boxell has pleaded with the public to end his "limbo" and help reveal if the boy was murdered or is still living ahead of the 30th anniversary of his disappearance aged 15.

It was feared Lee may have been killed in 1988 after witnessing child abuse at a teenage hang-out near his home in Sutton.

Monday will mark 30 years since the schoolboy went missing and his father Peter Boxell has issued an appeal through charity Missing People.

"I have been living in limbo for 30 years, not knowing if he is alive, safe and well, or if he was murdered," he said.

Lee Boxell has been missing for 30 years

"I am almost 72 now and do not want my life to end without discovering what happened to my son."

Some 24 years after he went missing, police learned Lee used to visit an outbuilding at St Dunstan's Church dubbed "The Shed", a gathering place for teenagers that was targeted by sexual predators.

Then in 2014 three men were arrested on suspicion of murder.

But they were released on bail.

Scotland Yard said on Friday there were no updates in the case.

The long wait for answers

Police at the time thought Lee was probably on his way to watch a game at Selhurst Park when he went missing.

Speaking last year, Mr Boxell said he has never given up hope of finding his son, but admits it is tough not knowing what has happened each day that goes by.

He said: "The last news we had was in 2013 when police excavated a graveyard. In some ways I was relieved there was no proof that Lee was murdered, but on the other hand I was disappointed they didn't find Lee during the excavation.

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"So we still don't know what happened to Lee, we are still living in limbo and there's a small glimmer of hope that he might not have been murdered, but we just don't know and not knowing is just the worst feeling.

"I'd like to believe Lee is still out there, I haven't given up hope. I just want to find him. Even if he's not alive I still want to find him so that we can start to grieve.

"There's only myself, my wife [Christine] and Lee's sister [Lindsey] left living from our family.

"Almost everyone else has died without knowing what has happened to Lee. And I don't want to go to my grave not knowing."